Out-Rage

Trump on February 5 to Fox News: “This thing’s (COVID-19) going away. It will go away like things go away”

Trump on February 7 to Bob Woodward: “You just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed. And so that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flus. This is deadly stuff.” 

Trump on March 19 to Bob Woodward: “I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down,because I don’t want to create a panic.”

Cue the justified outrage at President Trump. Trump lied. Ya don’t say?!?!?! Of course he lied, that’s what he does. Is there anyone on either side of the aisle that is truly shocked by the fact that Trump lied? I’m not sure why we expect any more of this man at this point. I must admit, the desire to prevent panic is the most presidential statement I have ever heard from Mr. Trump. And let’s be completely honest, there is absolutely no way that Donald Trump has the capacity to speak candidly on any subject, much less about the biggest public health crisis in our lifetime and create ANY sense of reassurance. His entire platform is based on hyperbole and inciting extreme reactions. 

However, if behind closed doors he knew this was a serious problem, why did he do nothing? That’s the egregious issue here. Not that he downplayed it with words, but that he downplayed it with actions. He could have minimized the issue verbally and still taken preventative actions to mitigate the spread. Why did he continue to have rallies where mask wearing was optional? Why did he encourage people to ‘LIBERATE’ their states knowing the social distancing measures were warranted to combat this ‘deadly stuff’? He knew how contagious and deadly this virus was and instead of lessening the impact, he actively exacerbated it. 

 “Woodward said he believes his highest purpose isn’t to write daily stories but to give his readers the big picture — one that may have a greater effect, especially with a consequential election looming.”  

The outrage at Trump should be universal, but I was also going to join others and go in on Bob Woodward for withholding this information when lives were at stake. However, the more I read his rationalizations on saving the information the more my mind slowly changed. Now, it is possible that public pressure from this information could have forced Mr. Trump’s hand to put actions in place, but is it likely? Does Donald Trump strike you as the type to cave to public pressure or is he the type to double down on his convictions regardless of consequence or merit? If attacked, Mr. Trump rarely acts rationally and he doesn’t change his mind, he instead aims to change your reality. Fact is, we have no idea how Mr. Trump would have reacted, and his followers have shown us they will go along with anything. Mr. Woodward’s initial goal was to do a series of on-the-record interviews and write a book to present an overall picture of the Trump presidency before the election. He has said if the book release date had been after the election saving this information would have been “unthinkable.” I initially planned to argue that there is no higher purpose or greater effect than saving lives, but we cannot be certain it would have made any difference. If Mr. Woodward had gone public, Mr. Trump most likely cuts off communication and the book to paint the picture of the presidency is never written. We don’t get Trump’s true views on race, on the military, or on his relationship with foreign leaders. There is so much more information that would have stayed in the shadows.

While we will never know the impact Mr. Woodward’s interviews could have had in the early stages of the pandemic, we do know that in times of crisis, journalism is not the key, leadership is. Mr. Trump’s response to the pandemic has been irresponsible, but these new revelations make his response downright reprehensible. Make no mistake, his inaction was not because he didn’t believe COVID was a threat, it’s because he doesn’t care. It’s because, as he so eloquently said, “It is what it is.”

Sources:

NYTimes.com

USAToday.com

WashingtonPost.com